Chapter 25 – Hail, Rain Or Sunshine
Previously - Leanne's hand flew up to her hair, "I was on the run from Lothor, I thought it was best to disguise my appearance", she defended herself.
"Can't a guy tease his baby sister", Marcus smiled but Leanne looked unimpressed, "I see you inherited Dad's sense of humour", he snorted.
"Like you care about Dad, you left us", Leanne paused and shook her head, "you left me", by now Blake was looking a little uncomfortable in the presence of the arguing siblings.
Marcus sighed, "We'll discuss that later Lea, in fact we've got much to discuss". He paused and looked towards the sky, "Perhaps you guest could join up down here instead of eavesdropping", he called out loudly, "I'm talking to you Tori Hanson, I know you're there". Blake's eyes widened as Tori sheepishly stood up from her hiding place and gave the three thunder ninja's a nervous wave. She sensed this was going to be an awkward conversation.
The older thunder ninja watched as the blonde haired teen slowly picked her way through the debris and down the earth bank. She was adverted her gaze probably in embarrassment, either from getting discovered or simply because she was there in the first place. After running away from the thunder ninja academy as a teenager, Marcus Omino had taken several identities. The one he used for the longest was Marcus Bentley, a young music teacher who had talked his way into a job at Angel Grove High.
The two years he had taught at the school were the longest he had spent in one place in the last seventeen years. He had watched over the Power Rangers of the time, even offering ninja training to the group after obtaining their ninja powers. Still wanted for desertion by the Thunder Ninja Academy, Marcus had continued to tour the world. He intended to the live out the rest of his days like this until he received a phone call from an old friend about three years ago which brought him back into the world of the Power Rangers.
As the blue ranger approached, Marcus quickly glanced over at his younger half sister. There was a look of annoyance on her face but he wasn't sure what was upsetting her the most, his presence or that of a wind ninja in the remains of her school. He soon got his answer, "Blake did you bring your girlfriend to the school?" the red head snapped, "what part of secret don't you understand?"
"I didn't bring her, in fact I was wondering what she's doing here myself", Blake frowned.
Tori bit her lip for a few moments before answering, "Alright fine, I saw you getting into a car with this woman and I got jealous", she sighed, "I'm sorry Blake".
The navy ranger shook his head, disappointed with the actions of his girlfriend, "Tori I thought you trusted me".
"I do but you were acting mysterious and I let my imagination run wild", she gave Blake her warm smile and an apologetic gaze, "forgive me?" Tori shuffled nervously from foot to foot, silently hoping that Blake would forgive her. If she could rewind the clock by an hour and actually follow Kelly's advice she would but unfortunately, that wasn't an option.
Blake made her sweat for a few moments, he was always going to forgive her but it wouldn't hurt to leave her hanging for a couple of seconds. "I can't stay mad at you", he smiled and pulled her in for a hug and kissed her on the forehead, "it's kinda sweet in a creepy stalkerish way", he added and Tori chuckled in response.
"I think you're missing the point Blake", Leanne said with a cool tone, "you can't bring outsiders into our school".
"Leanne look around", Blake moved his free arm, "there's nothing left of the place, can't you let this go just this once".
"This is probably not the best time to mention this", Tori began. Sensing what she was going to say, Blake tried to stop her, "No Blake there's been enough secrets and I'm not keeping another one from your friend". She held up her arm, displaying her morpher, "I'm the Blue Wind Ranger".
There was a tense silence as the group waited for Leanne response. She turned around and began to pace whilst grasping at her dyed red hair. Eventually she turned back to face the young couple, Blake in particular, "You let a wind ninja into our school, our sanctuary", she stated with a silent fury.
"Leanne don't be like this", Blake pleaded, "there's only a handful of ninja's left in the world, we can't afford to argue amongst ourselves".
"Can't you let go of the past because we have", Tori showed her hand that was clasped together with Blake, "we could use all the help we could get".
Marcus had been silent during this conversation and continued to be as his sister had an internal debate. It had been a long time since he had seen Leanne, she was just seven years old when he ran away from the Academy. Marcus had always been a little different from his fellow thunder ninjas. He never had the same arrogance that his peers did and he tried to instil the same principles into his younger sister. That was a long time ago though and clearly she had forgotten everything. It was time to remind her, "Robbie Sampson", he stated.
Leanne froze and slowly turned in his direction, "What?" she whispered.
"Remember little Robbie Sampson", Marcus repeated, slowly beginning to pace in her direction, "when you were just five years old, you stood up for him against some boys more than twice your size".
"They were picking on him because he wasn't born into a ninja family", Leanne added, "I can't believe you remembered".
"Clearly you didn't", Marcus sighed, "I thought I taught you better than this", he shook his head and disappeared towards the remains of his old school.
Sensing the need for the two siblings to have some alone time, the teen ninjas slowly backed away, "I think we should leave you two alone", Blake grabbed his Thunder Blade off the ground, "I've got a race in couple of days, it'll be good to see you there".
"Yeah sure", Leanne smiled, "good to meet you Victoria", she added.
"Please call me Tori", the blue ranger smiled, "only my Mom calls me by my full name". She gave Leanne a wave, "Perhaps you can tell me some me embarrassing stories about Blake sometime".
"Alright Tor, time to go", Blake practically dragged the blue ranger out of the academy.
As Leanne watched the couple go, she looked around for her older brother but he had disappeared. She then spied the only building that was mostly intact, the Headteacher's office and quarters. The woman crossed the crater filled grounds until she reached the doorway. The wooden door had been blasted off its hinges and lay on the ground. Leanne stepped inside and found the remains of her father's office and was dismayed by the sight. The desk itself had been overturned and papers and personal files were scattered over the floor.
She picked were way through some of the papers and noticed that a few old files appeared to be missing. Her father would keep a record of every living thunder ninja, only disposing of their personnel file if they passed away. Lothor had obviously done a head count of the thunder ninjas and realised that four were missing. He knew where the Bradley's were so it was obvious that Lothor was actively searching for her and Marcus.
There was a loud crunch when Leanne took a step away from the desk. She looked underneath her boot and noticed a picture frame with a photo of Leanne with her Dad on her graduation day. A few tears formed in her eyes as she gently rubbed her father's face with her thumb. Graduation had been a bittersweet day for her, she had graduated at the top of her class but her brother hadn't been there to share her special day. A few minutes after that picture had been taken she had locked herself in her room and cried herself to sleep, the pain of Marcus' absence too much to take.
The last time she had seen her father was a few days after this picture was taken. She had been accepted at the prestigious Nepalese Ninja Academy to prove more advanced training than her school offered. It was the first time she had encountered ninjas from other Academies, including the wind academy. She preferred to keep to herself rather than interacting with the others, in fact she found the entire experience a little lonely.
"Don't worry, Hunter, Blake and the others will get him back for you", Marcus called out from the doorway.
Leanne nearly dropped the photo but caught it just in time. She placed it back on the upturned desk and wiped her eyes with her sleeve, "Don't you want father back as well?" she asked.
"I don't think Dad's too interested in seeing me", Marcus sighed and perched himself on a chair, "don't get me wrong, I don't want anything bad to happen to him either".
"What happened between you two", Leanne asked, she was only a child at the time of the fall out and never really got the whole story.
Marcus took a deep breath, "It wasn't him personally, I just grew tired of following all of his rules and living the thunder ninja lifestyle. Constantly hearing about how great we were and how awful the wind ninjas were", he shook his head.
"There's something you're not tell me", Leanne stated and frowned in his direction, "a little trick I was taught in Nepal, I can tell when someone's lying".
"You were always the smart one", Marcus chuckled, "about a month before I left, I bumped into someone taught at the wind academy. Initially there was a bit of tension but slowly we struck up a friendship", he paused for a moment, "but that all ended when I told Dad".
"Was she pretty", Leanne smiled and Marcus looked at her in surprise, "come on Marc, I might've been a kid at the time but even I knew you were a bit of a ladies' man".
"Yeah", Marcus sighed, "yeah she was. Unfortunately the Sensei at the Wind Academy found out too and banned her from seeing me any longer. Frustrated with the whole situation I ran away and I haven't really stopped running since". It had been a long time since Marcus had spoken about his first real girlfriend and the memories of those few weeks flooded into his mind. The danger and risk of dating someone from a rival school coupled with the lust and ecstasy of love. Then his father found out, the pair had always argued but the one over this girl was their biggest one yet. Marcus didn't think twice about packing his bags in the dead of night and running away. The only regret he had was not saying a proper goodbye to his young sister.
There was silence between the two sibling but not an overly uncomfortable one, "Did you ever think about me?" Leanne asked. Marcus nodded and reached underneath his top, pulling out a carved wooden pendant on a leather necklace. Leanne immediately recognised it as something she had made as a child, "You kept it?"
"All this time", Marcus replied, "I'm sorry Leanne I really am. If I could've come back I would but you know about the capture order that Dad still has out on me".
"I tried to get him to rescind that", Leanne confessed, "but he wouldn't listen to me". She shook her head a few times, "He was never the same after you left you know".
"Let's not talk about Dad", Marcus interrupted his sister, "tell me about how you escaped Lothor".
"Luck I think", Leanne sighed, "I was away from the Academy doing some solo training in the mountains. When I returned, I found the Academy in ruins and everyone apart from my Sensei dead". Once again a few tears formed in her eyes, "Sensei Ognikawa told me that Lothor had come and told me to run. I spent a few weeks hiding in Nepal and India before making my way back to the States".
"That's when you bumped into Blake?" Marcus asked.
His sister nodded, "That was only a week ago, I returned to the Academy and found it in ruins but Blake was here practicing with a Thunder Blade. He told me that him and Hunter were Power Rangers and were dealing with Lothor. Since I had nothing else to do I offered to help him".
"That's when you got the dye job", he smirked, "all mocking aside, I think it suits you".
"Maybe I should lend you some, I'm noticing some greys around the temple", Leanne laughed and so did her brother.
"Help us Leanne", Marcus stated, "not just Blake but the rest of the ninjas as well".
"I dunno, I need to think about this", Leanne stood up, "so much has happened that I need a few days to take stock of everything". She approached her brother and held out her hand, "Do you have a cell phone?" Marcus nodded and handed it over, "Call me in a couple of days, we can meet up with the others at Blake's race". She handed the phone back to her brother and to his surprise pulled him in for a tight hug, "I missed you brother".
"I missed you too Lea", he added, "if you need a place to stay you can have my bed, I can sleep on the sofa".
Leanne pulled away from him and smiled, "I'll think about it", she stepped over the fallen furniture and headed towards the door, "let's not leave it another seventeen years before speaking again". The thunder ninja left, leaving Marcus alone in the remains of his father's old office. He hoped that Leanne would come around, he really missed Leanne and now that she was back, he wasn't going to leave her behind again.